Potholes: Unnecessary damage to your car
I Fyou can’t avoid a pothole, at least slow down as much as possible and let off the brakes just before falling into it. This will help prevent damage to your vehicle. Here are the most likely types of damage.
How much damage do potholes cause to vehicles?
When a tyre rolls over irregularities in the road, most of the force exerted on the suspension is directed upward because the bottom of the tyre is what touches the road. The higher up the tyre, the impact is, the more force there is pushing the tyre both up and back.
When a wheel hits a pothole, it drops into the hole and has to roll out of it. The damage is almost never due to the wheel entering the hole, but rather the impact on exit.
The amount of damage depends on the diameter of the tyre, the depth and length of the pothole and the speed of the vehicle. The smaller the wheel diameter, the more severe the impact, especially if the depth of the hole is the same as the diameter of the wheel.
Longer potholes cause the most damage—to things like the vehicle frame or platform— because at practically any speed, the tyre is likely to hit bottom before exiting.
One hole in the road: Many types of damage
When you drive into a pothole, it’s not just the tyre that absorbs the impact. Other components are also affected. The most common types of damage are loss of a wheel cap, a damaged tyre, a bent or broken wheel, wheels knocked out of alignment, damaged suspension components, bent steering parts, and damaged shock absorbers.
Wheel caps can easily ly off
Wheel caps are often attached to wheels only by pressure clamps. So it’s easy to lose them when your car rolls into a pothole.
Tyres, the frontline for potholes
The tyre absorbs the impact irst, and this can break its interior structure, tear the sidewall, or both. An overin lated tyre runs a greater risk of structural damage, whereas an underin lated tyre might rupture when squeezed between the pothole and the wheel.
Low‐pro ile tyres—more and more late-model cars are equipped with them— can sustain severe damage from this kind of impact. If you have any doubts, it would be wise to have your tyres examined by a specialist. They’ll be able to tell if a tyre’s belt is broken, which could pose a serious safety hazard.
Wheels are also harmed by holes in the road
If the tyre doesn’t absorb the full impact— if it’s underin lated, for example—the wheel will suffer the consequences. It may bend, crack, or break as a result.
Repair options for a wheel are quite limited, so more often than not it will have to be replaced. Alloy wheels are more fragile and more expensive.
How potholes affect your suspension
When a wheel falls into a pothole, it is subject to both vertical and horizontal force. These forces are transmitted to the suspension, which is meant to move up and down.
If there is enough horizontal force, suspension parts (like the suspension arm) as well as the steering linkage (or tie rod) can be damaged and the wheels knocked out of alignment.
If the wheels are not realigned, tyres can wear quickly and driving may become noticeably uncomfortable.
Potholes cause collateral damage to shock absorbers
Shock absorbers rarely break from impact with potholes. They usually wear out due to extensive driving on bad roads.
There are ways to tell if a shock absorber is reaching the end of its useful life. Oil leaking from a shock absorber is a bad sign, but it doesn’t necessarily mean it needs replacing. The reverse is also true, however: A shock absorber may show no signs of leaking, but that doesn’t mean it’s still in top shape.
The best way to check is to push down hard two or three times on a corner of the vehicle, then let go when the car is at its lowest point.
If the car bounces twice or more, it’s time to change that shock absorber. Repeat the test on all four corners of the vehicle. With potholes, it’s all about safety Don’t try to swerve around a pothole if doing so could cause an accident. If you’ve gone through a pothole and want to stop and inspect the damage, be sure to park in a safe place. If you think your wheel is too damaged to drive, don’t take any unnecessary risks—call a towing company.
Never stop on a highway to attempt to recover a lost wheel cap: you could be struck by a passing vehicle. If you do stop for this reason on a slower, less busy road, make sure there is no danger to yourself or other road users.